The roads surrounding Toronto’s Trump Tower have reopened after officials determined that an unstable antenna on top of the building poses no threat to public safety.
Toronto police were called to the 65-storey Trump International Hotel, located at 325 Bay St., Monday morning after staff reported seeing the building’s antenna swaying in the wind.
The area surrounding the structure was then closed off to ensure the safety of passersby, police said. Bay Street between King to Richmond streets was shut down, as was Adelaide Street, eastbound from York Street to Bay.
Police reopened the roads at approximately 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
While there was no indication that the structure caused an immediate threat to safety, Toronto Police Sgt. Pat Alberga said the area around the hotel was closed out of “an abundance of caution.”
“(The engineers) had to make sure that they did a thorough investigation,” Alberga said. “They didn’t want to reopen it just for the sake of it. They wanted to make sure that nobody got hurt.”
It is not immediately clear whether or not any repairs were done to the antenna, but police told reporters at the scene that they have been assured that there is “absolutely no public safety threat.”
Officials say the road closures were needed to give all parties involved enough time to inspect the safety of the structure for themselves.
“The roads could not be re-opened until engineers had declared the structure sound and city building officials had confirmed that independently,” Toronto Mayor John Tory’s office said in a statement.
Talon International Development, the owner of the building, has not commented on what measures were taken to ensure the safety of the antenna.
In a statement issued Monday night, however, the company did note that any structural concerns were determined to be unsubstantiated.
“During routine preventative maintenance on the roof top, Trump Hotel management was apprised by the crew that a portion of the spire may need further inspection,” the statement from Talon read. “Talon’s technical specialist was quickly dispatched to the area, and found that the concerns were unsubstantiated. Talon is continuing its due diligence and is now awaiting a final report from its technical team.”
Toronto police had originally said that the roads surrounding the building would reopen by noon on Tuesday, but later announced that additional inspection would require the area to remain closed until the afternoon.